HANG TIME HEADQUARTERS – The playoff openers for all of the Eastern Conference teams are set, per a release from the NBA office.
They are as follows:
No. 1 Chicago vs. No. 8 Indiana — Saturday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN
No. 2 Miami vs. No. 7 Philadelphia — Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on ABC
No. 3 Boston vs. No. 6 New York — Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on TNT
No. 4 Orlando vs. No. 5 Atlanta — Saturday at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
The Western Conference matchups aren’t even decided yet. But with all 30 teams in the league playing tonight, we’ll know everything we need to by early Thursday morning.
In the meantime, we can all start planning at least part of our weekend around the Eastern Conference openers.
Shouldn’t these games be on regular tv? Why should people have to pay sky high cable prices just to watch basketball?
tnt … abc ,,, espn … those are all regular tv .. unless you are stuck in the 50′s and have bunny ears
lol
ABC, ESPN, TNT are regular cable channels, maybe you can’t afford it and you are still trying to watch the tv with an antenna
3 and 6 are the series to watch…a lot of people will be in shocked…this is the game that Ends Boston dreams.. sorry celtics fans i’m sure after NY beat Boston I’m sure you will be cheering on Heat or Bulls, anyway Boston fans are fake fans, they just go to which team wins..like the fans of the Fakers!!!
I hope it will be true..can’t wait to see my Knicks beat the Celtics, they are not the Celtics I know before,they are weak and the Knicks are playing great right now!
That was quick lol!
tha two main thing for me is,miami sweeping sixers,nd knicks beatin celtics in game 6…
The first round in the East this year is on paper going to be uneventful and boring,besides the All-Star packed 3-6 match-up,the rest of the series are very predictable and in my opinion will be sweeps…I’m looking forward to round two Miami vs.Boston and Orlando vs. Chicago, now that my friends will be some of the best Basketball this year.
Boston vs. OKC in the Championship 2011
sweeps?? i dont think so buddy
Sweeps will happen in the east. Pacers will be roadkill for the bulls barring something amazing from granger (don’t see rose letting that happen). Philly will be swept by the heat if they aren’t all there, they will win one game if all are on deck. West the only possibility is new orleans getting swept by lakers if bynum is back the whole time and this match up may not even eventuate, otherwise no west sweeps.
GO CELTICS!
THE CELTICS HAVE NO CHANCE AGAINST THE KNICKS. KNICKS ARE RED HOT GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS AND THE CELTICS ARE IN TROUBLE GOING INTO THE PLAYOFFS. KNICKS WIN THIS SERIES IN 5 OR 6 GAMES.
GOOO KNICKSSS!!!!
not gonna happen
haha you must be joking the knicks are scrap
u r dreaming
@Kevin the Knicks showed us last night what’s to come vs Boston. Boston win in 5 games
Mavericks are gonna win it all!
dream on
mavericks ,hahahhah that is a good joke hahahhahahah . mavericks , ahahhahhhahah
Not to rain on Dallas parade but they might not get out the 1st round. The Blazers are going to be tough to beat. That will be a good series
I agree! Mavs will win it finally this year!
GO MAVS!!!
if rondo mans up and plays like he has most of the season and getting everyone going, they can cruise through the first two rounds. otherwise they stand no chance
yessir BOSTON BABY!
Heat vs Magic in the EAST finals
I’m looking forward to seeing Miami advance to round 2!! GO HEATLES!!
Comparing your team to the Lakers and Celtics is bad enough. Comparing yourself to the greatest band ever when you haven’t even won one playoff game together is retarded. Especially when your bench is “The Who”?
The First round should be pretty easy for the top teams other than the celtics i see a potential scare for them comin from the knicks especially with melo comin off a couple hot games but i think its going to be Celtics vs Miami and Chicago vs Orlando
Cruise through the Heat?? LOL
The Heat suck. At least Bosh is playing better so they stop getting called “Two and a Half Men”. Now they can be called “Three Men and a Bibby”.
@tata LMAO
Mavs are losing to Blazers, First road. Chew on that sucka.
No way the mavs can’t win it without Caron Bulter. If they had Caron they would be dangerous but i can’t see it happening wihtout him. GO SPURS!!!
I think that Atlanta will Will beat Orlando in 6 games,
D rose takes Bulls the whole way!
That would be nice except for reality.
LOOL
Miami is easily getting to the 2nd round but its gonna get worse down the road. hopefully new york can pull of an upset and orlando the same in the second round against chicago. if not then good luck to the 305!
im srry but if andrew bynum is ok and the lakers are healthy there isnt even a chance for another team to come out of the west. and to everyone who thinks the mavs or the spurs are comming out you have got to be kidding me. the lakers arent even threatned by anyone in the west its not even close
Chris you clearly are forgetting about okc who they are afraid of after last year and they added perk. Fear the Thunder lakers
Amen to that!
That’s true but we all know he won’t be 100% after that. Still there’s no counting a team out, until they’re out.
I have feeling OKC will beat L.A in Game 7. I actually see them shocking alot of people, a few reasons, they got Perk and Ibaka on “D”, they got Thabo and Harden defending Kobe, and I just see Westbrook dominating Fisher and Blake.
yo dude, miami beat lakers twice
SWEEPED >.>
I really don’t wanna sleep on the Celtics. They’ll have Shaq back to clog the paint and they’ll stop sleepwalking and actually play with some intensity. As far as the first round:
CHI > IND in 5 games
MIA > PHI sweep
BOS > NYK in 6 games
ORL > ATL in 6 or possibly 7 very boring games.
ORL-ATL boring? well maybe since Im a ORL fan, I don’t find it boring when they start raining 3s like its April, hopefully ORL will go for a sweep again like last year.
GO ORL and OKC!
ikno that the miami heat are goin to win the nba 2010-2011 finals
Just like you know how to spell.
lol. now that was funny Max.
Grizzlies win it all!!
HEAT!!!!!!!!!
CRYBABIES!!!!!
Frenchy!!
GO MIAMI ALL THE WAY TO THE FINALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can Miami win thorugh the tear shedding??? THERES NO CRYING IN BASkETBALL!!!! The Bulls had 2 coaches quit aftre beating them & forced Le Baby to pout & cry all the way down SOUTH BEACH!!!!
wow you must be the one guy who turns up on time to their games
Knicks vs Nuggets = 2011 NBA Finals
Indeed! I miss Gallo and Ray and Chandler, I hope they win the Western conference and Knicks beat the East. But I want the Knicks to win the Title! STAT CITY! Amar’e= the change is here!!!!!!!!!! KNickssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Knicks Vs Nuggets – 2011 NBA Finals LETS GOO
Karl?
Heat VS Oklohoma in the championship final
the cwltics will not win this year…the knicks have a better chance then people think.but i would love to see the thunder v the bulls in the finals.that would be awesome
With the MVP & Coach of the Year & Executive of the year…THE BULLS WILL TAKE IT ALL!!!!! For all the Heat fans…just make sure that you have enough tissue for Le Baby cuz he will be shedding tears once again & he will promise to not let you down again….UNTILL NEXT YEAR!!!!!
LeBaby = Frenchy
Using nick names for Lebron. You must be the ex girlfriends AKA Cleveland fans lol.
I bet his ex girlfreinds or the city of Cleveland didnt cry as much as Le Bron did when D Rose & the Bulls put that spanking on them!!!!
And you must be from Miami. AKA recent fan.
@ MAX I must be because everytime I comment haters pop, just like the exgirlfriends from Cleveland, lol.
hmmm rose hasnt won a playoff series doesnt deserve mvp hes below top 5 player in my eyes and neither has the coach won a playoff series, if the bulls get lucky theyll make the second round any1 after that is way too talented for them in a series ps d-rose is NOTHING on lebron wade amare carmello or kobe or dwight , no way bulls make it past second round
LOL You have no clue do you? Have you ever watched the Bulls play? Rose is the best talent in this league behind James. he is MVP hands down. No other player has had to carry his team. He is the only All-Star on the Bulls and he had to carry the team when Boozer and Noah were out for 53 games total.
The bulls went 35-18 when Boozer/Noah or both were injured. Thanks to D-Rose.
Big East Coast…1st round is Half exciting… But I can’t wait to see C’s VS NY…Its goona be very interesting.. Men I can’t wait for 2nd round is going to be A Nasty Dog fight with HEAT VS C’s and CHI VS ORL..
Big West Coast… 1st round is Half exciting… I hope its LAK VS POR in the first round.. Mavs please win tonight. then OKC VS Denver is gonna be nice too.. But 2nd round is gonna be A nasty Dog fight btw SAN VS OKC and Lake VS MAVS.. Daaamm son I can’t Wait..
I’m Loving It… Where Amazing Happens!
@Peter that guy bt561 is a complete blind man. The bulls are going to the ECF Orlando can’t beat them and ATL sure don’t have a chance. Miami won’t make it there so the Bulls will face Boston in the ECF. Season series 2-2 so the bulls have a shot.
Don’t forgit about Orlando now with the true MVP(Dwight Howard)!!!!
MVP’S dont get suspended for excessive technicals & only get the #4 seed…..PUUUULEEEASE!!!!
you got to be kidding me. He is the only player in the nba that changes every sengle posestion when he is on the court. he is also the best center in the nba.
i agree gaspar
Minnesota Timberwolves vs Wasington Wizards 2010-2011 NBA FINALS LETS GOOOOOO!!!!!
@Gaspar your right @ John dwight is a great canidate but his team has not been playing to their potential. D Rose MVP. Ohh yeah all those tech’s on Dwight great MVP choice. I like Dwight he’s the best center but Rose and the Bulls have the best record in the NBA. Rose has carried them
Why ppls be hating on any teams??? Just watch the game and enjoy.. I wana see how LBJ and D-Wade is goona play, yooo #6 & #3 goota make dem haters choke dem self by unleashing your wrath at your VS… Yaaa Hate on Dat Son???
AKA- Amer Boga Kha!
Miami sucks they proved yes the can beat teams with a record below 500. But against teams with winning records they haven’t even won 50% of those games. For Miami to win they need a miracle plain and simple. Miami will beat philly yes of course not many teams wouldn’t. But in order for them to beat the Celtics wade bosh and james are gonna need to be monsters. Miami doesn’t have any help for those three guys if they were a deeper team than maybe they would win. But not without a supporting cast. When was the last time a team won with only three guys…………………………………….. I just don’t think Miami has what it takes to win a seven games series against the celtics, magic or bulls. Let alone most of the teams in the west. The spurs lakers thunder mavs could all beat miami in a 7 game series. The only reason miami would get close to the eastern conference finals is because the east compared to the west is so incredibly weak.
AMEN!!!!!…
ROUND 1- EASTERN CONFERENCE
CHICAGO OVER INDY IN 4
MIAMI OVER PHILLY IN 5
KNICKS OVER CELTICS IN 6
ORLANDO OVER ATLANTA IN 7
ROUND 2- EASTERN CONFERENCE
CHICAGO OVER ORLANDO IN 6
KNICKS OVER MIAMI IN 7
EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS
KNICKS OVER CHICAGO IN 7
NBAFINALS
KNICKS OVER THUNDER IN 6
LeBron comes in and dunks on everybody!
le baby wtf no one ever said it was him crying haters!!!! be mad and hate all you want once again the king had the best season for a player in the nba bar none states dont lie math is an exact science wade was up there also . d rose is a volume shooter they win becuz there d not rose dont think when they teams track rose and he has to give it up that they are to much of a threat Boston is scary cuz u can never tell how much they have left but there missing the piece that separated them from other teams a defensive presence in the middle that sets the tone on that side of the court , Dwight has a clear path to the finals now if agent zero can step up and show soim of him old self they have a chance and that only if . mia to me can be swept out the first round or they can sweep threw the whole thing and win it all no telling how there going to play but im banking on them havin it figured out . on the west you got sa la mav okc and the x factors den and portland la dont have the focuse to me this year sa is to old for a long run mavs are a season team not playoff team okc has the stars all lined up this year to me i have mia and okc mia in 6
You are right…I must’ve missed the TV special where he explains that it wasn’t him who shed a tear….did u DVR it? The Bulls will win becuz of D Rose & their Defense….did you check the Bulls team defense stats as you were gushing over Queen James & Double Agent Wades stats…..hmmmm…excuse me as I quote…”states dont lie math is an exact science ” ….STATS DONT LIE EITHER.
T H U N D E R !
I think all the top seeds will make it out the 1st round in 5 or less.
Miami over Portland or OKC
NBA Championship 2011
I see it an believe it coming.
lets go heat
i hate the bulls lets go heat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Heat-Bulls east finals resulting in Heat-Lakers for the Championship. Miami takes it in game 6. Take that to the bank and don’t forget about me.
my predictions are the heat will play against okc in the finals i say miami will win it 4-1 this is just my prediction, until that happens LETS GO HEAT.
my predictions are the heat will win the championship because they rock and i agree with you julius i also hate the bulls
I don’t know what y’all are talking about, but its gonna be Lakers and Celtics again with Boston ultimately winning it all baby!
Chi-Town will run over the Celtic, and I see OKC upsetting the Lakers in 6 or 7. CHI-OKC in Finals.
Get ready for the Bulls to collect all the hardware this year…..MVP…Coach of the Year…& Executive of the Year & the cherry on top….NBA FINAL CHAMPIONS!!!!!!
Its kinda funny how you guys have no idea what you are talking about… Heat won’t make it… Boston won’t make it… New York won’t make it… Orlando won’t make it… they all stink!! They’re horrible… must be sad to know that an 11 year old is making more sense than a sorry bunch of noobs like you guys
little kid grow 15 more years and then you can act like you know anything about basketball and ps your best player d-rose looks like hes 11 on a basketball court too ! i see why you likem lol but bulls are riding on fairytales in lala land if they think they can make it past lebron wade and bosh in a series! its just common sence just d.wade alone has more talent than rose nah and boozer alone forget about it ps rose is having mvp handed too him lebron wade and dwight’s stats are all better and lebron just puts rose to shame, espn are just all about politics so their suckin him off plus their still sore in the butt cuz lebron went and made a team thats gonna make all their fav team butt sore
@bt561 can you honestly say the Heat can beat the Bulls?? 0-3 this season they didn’t beat them at all. Ohh yeah they beat Boston 1 time. That’s great we’ll see if Miami can get past Boston. NY well I give them 1 or 2 games vs Boston and I give Miami the same. The Knicks showed us last night what’s to come Saturday vs Boston. celtic’s 4-1 over NY and 4-2- over Miami.
Heat vs. Nuggets finals…. miami is winning it all this year
my predictions:
ec- chi w ind 4 0 mia w phi 4 0 nyk w bos 4 2 orl w atl 4 0 sf: chi w orl 4 0 mia w nyk 4 3 f: mia w chi 4 3
wc: sas w noh 4 0 lal w mem 4 0 dal w por 4 2 okc w den 4 2 sf: okc w sas 4 2 lal w dal 4 0 f: lal w okc 4 3
f: lal w mia 4 3
do not underestimate the boston celtics!!! let’s just wait and see!! go celtics!
boston celtics!!!
kings win it all
lol, you do realise that sacramento are not making the playoffs. as for lebron, it will be the same story again this year, he will choke and buckle under pressure and again the championship title will be out of his reach.
@ Rabz I see it happening too. Then he’ll blame the coach or Bosh maybe even Wade. Boston took these 2 out last year and will kill 2 birds with 1 series this season. Go Boston Go Bulls
Bulls are going all the way. There are the hottest team going into the playoffs and they have beaten spurs knicks heat celtics orlando and many other top teams after the all star break. Bulls have the top defense in the league and one of the best benches. boozer and noah will step there game up in the playoffs and so will drose which means hell prolly average 30 or more in the playoffs. go bulls!
Celtics lost their chance once they traded Perkins let’s be real. It will be between the Orlando Magic, Miami heat, or the Bull’s. Either team that plays each other will go 7 games easily, Orlando Magic VS Oklahoma Thunder in the FINALS!!!!
CHI will have some pretty close games but win it in the end.
MIA gonna have a hard time to beat PHI at all
Most easy for BOS and ATL to go next round
I dont get it….the fact that Miami couldn’t beat a winning team this year is not enough to wake up all the Heat bandwagoneers?!? Did anybody watch the way they crumbled? Or when Bosh complained in the beginning of the year that they wanted to chill & teh coach wanted them to work hard? The 3 amigos cant play all 48 ninutes of every game…eventually their non-existent bench & below par team defense will cause them to cry all the way to the off season.
Rose is overrated and Chicago won’t make it out of the second round.
Your a Hater and sorry to spoil your lil dumb comment but Miami will not go past the 2nd round. Rose overrated?? Man Haters are just mindless blind idiots. Yes you@defense33
u al r so dumb
every1 nows dat da heat wont makeit and da lakers r goin 2 play chicago in da finals
chicago winning 4-3
u guys r so dumb 4 real
da heat…..
suk lol
Hang on a second. Though I wanna see the Knicks get #6, can’t the Sixers still get the tiebreaker tonight? I guess it makes no difference as far as hosts and times, but do the Knicks have #6 sealed up?
Not that anyone cares. but ill throw my predictions out there for the heck of it
Chicago wins it in 4
Miami wins it in 5,… unless Iggy and holiday decide to bring some extra and push a game 6, but i don’t think that will happen
Celtics win it in 6
Magic in 7 (this will be the Toughest series) Orlando has had a horrible time against them this year.
No this was not intended to go in order of 4, 5, 6, 7. just worked out that way
I reckon that it’s going to be a Lakers-Bulls Final. It will be bitter sweet as Phil Jackson tries to finish his coaching career with a 4th 3-peat and he will probably get it done against the team he coached to their only championship wins.
GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!! GO MIAMI!!!
3Peat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why would the knicks be 6th if philly will have the same record with a win and a knicks lost. Philly has beat the knicks this year 3-1.
I KNOW! That’s crap, I think someone screwed this one up.
Or Sixers vs. Blazers in d Finals!! Worst tv ratings ever
haha id watch! go sixers! (saying that feels so hopeless lol)
99, 2003, 2005, 2007, and now 2011 are the years that SA has and will hoist the crown. Celtics vs Spurs in the finals and Spurs will be triumphant in 6. Also, let me educate yall, the Thunder, albeit good, have not had an easy time with Spurs, as a matter of fact they are better against the Lakers. Get some tape and watch the Spurs this season and you will see just how good they are and you will observe how they will dismantle all others. WAR THE SPURS and STEELERS Nations.
@Gaspar
look at the last 15-20 games , they defeated many 0.500 team , lal,sas,c’s,nuggets,phili,memphis and just lost lost to okc , it was all about chemistry now they got it and they are good,scary good ! be aware of haeat,
TOO FUNNY LOVE THE COMMENTS
Lakers vs. Celtics finals. Lakers win in 6 games. Go to http://truballers414.blogspot.com/ to see why
You understand the Miami Heat already won the championship! Remember, they threw the victory parade before the start of the season! LMAO!
Lakers Celtics finals. Take that to the bank!! LMAO!
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I was born in to the Plug-in- the -Wall- basics, and it has cahnged my life. I mean I have never seen anything like it, we have duplicating channels, 3 weather channels, 4 spanich channels, a couple of black and white dot channels, and not to mention what the fellow “f” said,
THIS, THIS is amazing….THIS is Where its AT…..THIS….Stars before they were stars…….. you old timers watching espn think you got D-Wade…..THIS has Lone WOLf MCQUADE, ………I can keep going on and on, but its quite clear that you all are missing out due to shaft infections, and THIS is on Top….THIS IS WHERE ITS AT
I realize the Sixers are undoubtedly going to lose but can the Heat fans on here at least respect us enough to meantion that they are even playing us? I think the sixers will put a good show on and take a game, possibly even two but our fate was sealed when the matchup was finalized
The playoffs look to be very promising this year. I sincerely hope the Celtics/Knicks series goes to an exciting game 7. I think after the first round the east playoffs will get a lot better and more entertaining. I think whoever wins that series will represent the East in the finals. Hopefully the Bulls, Heat, or Magic will be able to make it interesting though. Nobody seems to be taking Orlando seriously this season, as if their appearance in the Finals in 09 was a fluke. Would be an enormous upset if Indiana beat Chicago! But I really don’t see that happening.
The weekend couldn’t come soon enough…
I’m very excited to watch the Heat, especially after Riley and Spoelstra presented the championship trophy to LeBron. He’s very hungry to win it all, and that’s why he went to Miami this season. After 82 games and 58 wins, LeBron has accepted the role of giving Wade the leadership role he used to have in Cleveland. Don’t get me wrong, LeBron fans, it doesn’t mean that Wade is the better player. It so happened that Wade won 16 playoff games in ’06, and Lebron said to Wade, ‘man, you got 16. You did it. So now you have to help lead us in those moments. You knew what it took to get it done’. Statistically, LBJ is Batman. But talking about leadership, Wade is Superman in Justice League. I just hope that Bosh won’t turn out to be Invisible Man at this stage.
The West has more intriguing matches, particularly the Memphis/SA series and the Dallas/Portland series. In the former, the Grizzlies match up pretty good against the league leaders in every position. In the latter, I would like to see how the Mavericks would fare against Aldridge and Batum. These guys can really deliver. And there’s OKC, arguably the deepest roster to qualify in the playoffs. There’s no denying the fact that Westbrook and Durant are out on a mission, and Perkins have their backs.